An integral part of The Culture: Hip Hop and Contemporary Art in the 21st Century exhibition, last August photographer Patrick Nichols captured a portrait of more than 100 of Toronto's early hip hop innovators. Entitled A Great Day in Toronto Hip Hop, the portrait includes performers, DJs, club promoters, and more, telling the story of hip hop’s origins in Toronto. 

Join us on February 7 as we celebrate that day last summer with Patrick Nichols, featuring sound from the Sunshine Sound Crew, DJs JC and Toney D, and Nigel B from WildStyle Crew.

Born in London (United Kingdom), and of Jamaican-American descent, DJ Toney D (born Toney Duncan) is a deejay and founding member of the legendary Sunshine Sound Crew alongside John Facey and Brother Different. Given his first opportunity to participate in Toronto’s music scene by DJ Carl Allen he continued to cultivate his love of Hip Hop together with members of The Sunshine Sound Crew and later, a young Michie Mee solidifying  the reputation of The Sunshine Sound Crew as the top sound in the city – playing high school dances, block parties, and special events such as roller skating parties. In addition to opening up for LL Cool J and Chris Rock, Toney D has been instrumental in organizing many of the first Hip Hop and R&B concerts featuring American acts to the city including shows for Run-D.M.C., The Notorious B.I.G. (also known as Biggie Smalls), Slick Rick, Doug E. Fresh, Roxanne Shanté, Lost Boyz, Papoose, Paul Wall, Ginuwine, Bobby Valentino, and Divine.

JC Sunshine is the one of the original members of the influential Sunshine Crew.  JC Sunshine was also a resident DJ at Club Z, Stilife and Phoenix Concert Theatre from the mid 80s to the early 2000s.  During the early 90s he had an incredible total of four live to air shows on four different ratio stations.  He played in some of Toronto's largest clubs and has been a part of the longest running live to air shows in North American radio history, Sunday Nights Energy 108 from the Phoenix.

Nigel B grew up in Toronto listening to Funk, R&B, Reggae and Calypso from his parent's record collection.  He took up DJing at the age of 14 and after only a few years started playing with the T.K.O. Sound Crew and playing nightclubs.  He has been a fixture of Toronto's night life club scene for over 20 years having toured Canada, US and the Caribbean and playing with such well known artists as Mariah Carey, Black Eyed Peas, Naughty By Nature and many more. In 2004 he received the life time achievement award form Stylus for his contributions to DJ-in in Canada.

Born in Jamaica, and raised in Chicago and Toronto, Patrick Nichols began capturing images as early as the 1980s - and is considered one of the foremost photographers of the early Toronto Hip Hop scene. With photographs of some of the most notable faces in our society, Nichols counts among his subjects artists such as Mos Def, Tamia, K-OS, Fefe Dobson, Ivana Santilli, Kardinal Offishall, Saukrates, Glen Lewis, and Keshia Chante; sports figures such as announcer Don Cherry, NFL player Ricky Williams and NHL player Brad Richards; and political figures such as Ontario Court Judge Donald McLeod.